For Cantenac Brown, the construction of its new raw earth cellar will combine thermal inertia and perfect temperature regulation. With no artificial air-conditioning, no equipment to be renewed, and elevator tanks made of recyclable aluminum, this project is a model of virtuous construction and eco-responsibility in these times of climate change.
A thermal inertia ensured by the use of raw earth
The thermal inertia of the cellar, induced by the use of raw earth for its construction, will provide a perfect atmosphere for the stability and aging of the wines, without air conditioning, and therefore without energy consumption. The architectural project is above all a model of eco-responsible construction adapted to the climatic evolutions of the decades to come.
The architect Philippe Madec, who has worked on several avant-garde projects, is leading this unusual project. According to him, it is a quality approach for the wine, which will be protected by 1 meter thick walls. We should obtain a fairly strong thermal inertia that will allow us to do without air conditioning. We will also have Canadian wells (a buried duct in which air from outside circulates, cooled by the earth).
Bio sourced materials for a zero carbon objective
All materials, biosourced, natural and untreated, will come from the Aquitaine region and aim for zero carbon. No use of cement is planned. Also built in compressed earth, the low vault of the cellar will be, in itself, an architectural feat. It will be the only one of its size in Europe and the only one in the world with a wooden frame. To date, only two earthen vaults of this scale have been built: in Ctesiphon, for a Persian king in the 3rd century AD, and in India, in the experimental town of Auroville. The vault of the Cantenac Brown castle will be the only one in the world to be load-bearing.